People march in silence Sunday, Aug. 4, 2019, in El Paso, Texas, holding sunflowers and signs to honor the victims of the mass shooting that occurred in Walmart on Saturday, Aug. 3, 2019. (Lola Gomez/Austin

People march in silence Sunday, Aug. 4, 2019, in El Paso, Texas, holding sunflowers and signs to honor the victims of the mass shooting that occurred in Walmart on Saturday, Aug. 3, 2019. (Lola Gomez/Austin

More than 2,000 miles away from El Paso, Texas, Connecticut immigrant rights activists feel the impact of the mass shooting and are ready to organize and hold leaders accountable to reform.

Officials are investigating the shooting that killed 22 people near the Mexican border and injured at least two dozen others as a possible hate crime against immigrants because the suspect posted an anti-immigrant “manifesto” beforehand, but authorities are still gathering evidence to prove it, according to law enforcement officials. The shooter listed “the Hispanic invasion of Texas” as one of several motivations for the attack, authorities said.

“It’s sad because this county was created on the back of immigrants,” John Lugo, a lead organizer for ULA, said. “As the new waves of immigrants come from Latin America, I see no difference from immigrants from Europe.”

Lugo said people who have immigrated to New Haven have seen this type of hate and discrimination before, but the shooting in El Paso makes those threats feel very real.

“This has been proof that there’s a large segment of people in this country that are racist and are empowered,” he said.

This moment is not an easy time to be an immigrant, he said, and there’s concern that undocumented immigrants in El Paso who were injured in the shooting might not have gone to the hospital because they’re afraid of being caught by ICE.

Lugo, who immigrated from Columbia and became a U.S. citizen, said his legal status doesn’t matter to people who scream at him to go back to his country.

“In my case I’m an American citizen, but that doesn’t mean I don’t receive hate because I’m brown and I speak broken English,” he said.

Kica Matos, a longtime immigration and social justice advocate in New Haven, said in her experience, Connecticut has pockets with histories of anti-immigrant sentiment, such as Danbury and East Haven, but many large cities have immigrant-friendly policies.

There’s fear, though, that the actions in Texas might be more visible in Connecticut because the president’s administration has opened the doors to anti-immigration and bigotry, she said

“White supremacists feel no hesitancy when they have a president coming to their defense,” she said.

Whenever anti-immigrant sentiments arise, they are attached to race, Matos said. She cited President Donald J. Trump’s agenda on immigration noting that the administration’s rhetoric and policies have been targeted at immigrants from Mexico and Latin America, rather than immigrants from Europe.

Matos said the anti-immigrant hate can extend to many people of color, such as Puerto Ricans, who are American citizens, because they are often treated as foreigners because of their skin color, Spanish language, and strong cultural identity. Matos said Puerto Ricans have been picked up in immigration raids and a Puerto Rican man from North Carolina was deported to Mexico.

Even with the shooting having occurred in Texas, Matos said people feel the impact in Connecticut.

“It terrorizes people,” she said. “It drives them underground. It creates a tremendous amount of fear. People are terrified to live their daily lives and that affects people of color that they’ll be subjects of violence.”

“Leadership really matters when their public officials stand up, when they affirm the rights and dignity of immigrants, when the law enforcement is there to protect them and they will fight the administration,” Matos said.

Lugo said ULA will hold a press conference Aug. 14 on the steps of New Haven City Hall to talk about the need for New Haven to formally declare itself a sanctuary city for immigrants in the wake of the El Paso shooting.

“I think it’s incumbent upon us for everyone who respects our democracy to stand up and say we’re with you and protect immigrant communities, that the message is ‘you are welcome in this community and you’re part of this country,’” Matos said.

Lugo said it’s especially important for anyone in the immigrant community to be involved in their neighborhoods and administrations.

“Immigrants, even if you don’t have documents, you should be part of the local level decisions,” he said. “Being afraid is a natural instinct, but to let the fear follow us and to command our actions, it’s important for the people who are afraid to be more involved in the community and to overcome that.”

While Rojas said Immigration Customs Enforcement officials are terrorizing communities by going to courts, hospitals and affordable housing to find undocumented immigrants, “this is not the moment to feel fear. We’re building a united front.”

Gov. Ned Lamont released a statement Sunday condemning the shooting.

“There is a real epidemic of domestic terrorism growing in this country, with at least one of this weekend’s mass shootings reportedly perpetrated by a white nationalist,” he said in the statement. “These are acts of evil generated by an expanding ideology of hatred. It’s far past time that leaders throughout our country take action against this plague that is tearing our nation apart.”

In remarks released by the White House Monday, Trump called for making sure “those judged to pose a grave risk to public safety” not to have access to firearms, reform in mental health programs to identify and help or stop those who might be prone to such violence, among other measures.

“The shooter in El Paso posted a manifesto online consumed by racist hate. In one voice, our nation must condemn racism, bigotry, and white supremacy. These sinister ideologies must be defeated,” Trump said. “Hate has no place in America. Hatred warps the mind, ravages the heart, and devours the soul. We have asked the FBI to identify all further resources they need to investigate and disrupt hate crimes and domestic terrorism — whatever they need.”

Campaign & Policy Manager for CT Students for a DREAM Camila Bortolleto, whose family immigrated to the U.S., said the country needs to fix gun laws and have leaders to call out the problem.

“The attack this weekend in El Paso is a product of a white supremacist culture and ideology, which is emboldened and endorsed by the current administration, but that pre-dates this current administration and goes back generations,” Bortolleto said in a written statement.